Feels Like Flying
by RavenclawPride06
Summary: She touched his arm briefly; glad he didn't see her as a little girl who needed protecting. He smiled beck before getting out his work, they settled into a companionable silence, working next to each other. Spans Katie's Hogwarts Career - Possibly a couple of years more. Katie BellXOliver Wood.
1. Chapter 1

A Katie Bell X Oliver Wood story

I think Charlie was probably Gryffindor captain in Katie's first year and I'm not sure who the other chaser was before Katie so I'm just leaving that bit out. You will recognise all players; Charlie might be on the team as seeker.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise, I was hoping JKR would give me Oliver for Christmas this year, or Seamus, or Fred…but no such good fortune has come my way.

Please review if you want and be honest! On with the story.

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><p>Katie looked levelly at the ground, upon the green of the grass rested an old broom. Out of all the wonderful experiences to be had at Hogwarts, this was the one she was most looking forward to. Although she was half-blood, her parents never would have spent money on a broom for her, thinking it too much of an impracticality. She didn't blame them; after all, brooms were expensive.<p>

She looked up quickly and surveyed her fellow first-years, Gryffindors and Slytherins. Many of them were looking out of their depth, in fact one Slytherin was being beat about the head with his broom. She giggled at the sight and then refocused upon her own broom. Merlin, she was nervous, what if she was no good? It was the one thing she longed to excel at. She took a deep breath and once again glanced at her motionless broom.

"Up!" She commanded. The broom leapt straight into her outstretched and awaiting hand. A grin broke out on her young face. Looking up she noticed many of her class mates watching her with poorly hidden surprise. Madam Hooch smiled and caught Katie's eye,

"Well done Miss Bell, 10 points to Gryffindor" Madam Hooch congratulated her. Katie was pleased; she was the first in her year to score points for her house. She completed the rest of the tasks set by her professor with grace and ease. She turned to head back to the castle for her charms lesson when a voice called her back.

"Miss Bell? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Madam Hooch shouted after her retreating form. Katie turned and hurried back to where her teacher was waiting expectantly.

"I wondered if I could have some help taking these back to the broom cupboard." Madam Hooch motioned at the now still brooms. Although Katie suspected the witch could have completed the task in under a couple of minutes with a flick of her wand, She thought that maybe Madam Hooch wanted to talk about something else.

"Katie, I'm very impressed. I don't think I've seen anyone as good as you since Wood. Anyway, I just thought, if you carry on like this, you might think about trying out for the team next year." Madam Hooch said to her, depositing the brooms she was holding in the old damp shed. Katie was shocked. She had heard of Oliver Wood, many girls seemed to talk about him in the Gryffindor common room. She was beyond happy that Madam Hooch believed in her abilities even at this very early stage.

"I'd love to! However, professor, I don't have a broom and I doubt my parents would buy me one." Katie explained before turning to place the brooms she had carried in their correct places.

"We have a special fund at Hogwarts for cases such as yours, so don't worry, if your parents don't come around, there are always options for you." Madam Hooch advised her, smiling down at the small girl.

The professor dismissed her and Katie beamed at her and thanked her. Hurrying up to the castle, not wanting to be late for charms, her blonde hair flying out behind her.

At lunch she found herself sat in the great hall between second years Fred and George who were beaters on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She liked them immediately, they made her laugh and it was a nice welcome to the Gryffindor house. Picking up a bread roll she daintily cut it and buttered the sides, she was still amazed at how good the food was here at Hogwarts. She laughed at the twins, mucking about with their food as usual. She looked up to see Angelina, a chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team roll her eyes, and Katie stifled a giggle.

"Just ignore them, they're total clowns. Just be thankful you don't have lessons with them." Angelina quipped, a sparkle in her brown eyes as she slid down the bench opposite to Katie. "Hi, I'm Angelina, Welcome to Gryffindor, thought I should save you from these two buffoons." Katie smiled; thankful she wasn't going to be a total loner at Hogwarts.

"Aw, come on Angie, that's not what you were saying last night baby." George grinned and leaned across the table. Angelina tried to look stern but just ended up laughing at him.

"Ok, they can be quite funny sometimes Katie. Be careful though, when the Weasley charms are turned on you, you have a snowball's chance in hell." She then leaned in towards George before grabbing a bread roll and returning to her original seat. Grinning across at each other Katie and Angelina burst out laughing at the look on George's face.

"Bloody hell George, have we done something wrong already?" Fred interrupted the girls.

"What are you talking about Freddie?" George looked only slightly concerned.

"Madam Hooch seems to be coming over here," Fred explained. Katie blushed and looked down at her treacle tart; she hadn't noticed the professor striding down the length of the Gryffindor table. She had a nasty feeling she was about to have a very embarrassing conversation. She wanted Fred, Angelina and George of all people to like her. She looked up to see Angelina looking at her with a curious expression, before ducking her head once more.

Madam Hooch cut in "Katie, I'm glad you seem to have met the rest of the Quidditch team." Looking towards the rest of her audience she continued, "Katie here has a great skill for flying, she's thinking about trying out for the team next year." Looking around Katie saw Fred and George break into simultaneous grins and Angelina looking seemingly astonished but pleased. She smiled back happily at her new-found friends.

"You know, I was thinking Katie, you should go watch them practice sometime, it might give you an early advantage." Madame Hooch suggested.

"You've got the early part right." Fred mumbled under his breath.

George put in, "I don't know how you feel about 5'o clock but you may have to get used to seeing two of them each day." Madam Hooch laughed and explained,

"Oliver likes early Quidditch practice, I'm not sure the rest of his team are too enthusiastic about it." She bade them goodbye and swept from the great hall.

Angelina turned towards Katie, "Why didn't you tell us!" Katie blushed once again.

"I think Madame Hooch is slightly overconfident in my abilities." She explained.

"Is that so?" Fred asked, "Why don't you let us judge that for ourselves?"

"Yeah" George continued, "outside. You, me and Freddie here, game of Quidditch. What'd you say little Katie?"

Katie scowled. "I'm not that little, you three are just freakishly tall."

"I wish I could join you guys but I have so much potions homework." Angelina sent a death-stare towards the teachers table, where Snape was sat, looking stern. "Hopefully catch you later Katie, be careful with these two, they can be rough."

"You'd know all about that Angie" George shouted after her retreating figure, grinning as he did so.

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><p>"Wow, well I think we've found ourselves a new chaser for next year. Don't you Freddie?" George winked down at the small figure between them.<p>

"I certainly do Georgie! Do'ya think we can get old McG to let her on this year?" Fred replied. Katie looked down and began to blush before clumsily tripping over her own feet. She wasn't used to compliments and she hadn't expected the team to welcome her so openly already, well, those she'd met.

George noticed. "Oh my Katie, you're just as bad as our Ollypop - Clumsy on the ground and a genius off it." That was the second time today she had been compared to Oliver Wood, and she hadn't even met the guy yet.

"Is it dinnertime yet? I'm starving." Katie complained, not exactly knowing how to respond to that last remark.

"You Miss Bell should be a part of the Weasley family!" George said whilst Katie chuckled behind her hand. "Oi," George protested, nudging Katie in the ribs "that was meant to be a compliment."

"And what a fine compliment it was" came a voice from behind them. Alicia appeared beside George "torturing first years already are we?" she leaned across to Katie and offered a smile and her hand introducing herself as she did so. "Angie told me about you" she paused, "I saw you back there" motioning with her thumb the direction they had just came from. "You're pretty good."

Katie thanked Alicia with a smile, not sure the Gryffindor actually thought she was any good but altogether too happy to be concerned. The four of them reached the great hall taking their places at the Gryffindor table. Angelina almost immediately slid in between Alicia and Katie.

"Hey guys," she said, greeting them with a warm smile. "How was your afternoon?"

"Brilliant." Fred and George said at the same time, beaming.

"How do you two even do that?" Katie asked open mouthed.

"We're linked" Said one twin.

"Synchronised" put in the other.

"Spooky" whispered Angelina in Katie's ear and then, to make a point visibly shuddered. Alicia looked across at them with a strange look in her eyes.

"What's wrong with Alicia?" Katie asked Angelina in a small voice that none of the others would hear.

"Oh, you've noticed, Alicia's not very comfortable around new people. Don't worry, once you get to know her she'll be fine." Katie smiled down the table at Alicia; she was going to make an effort to be friends with her. She didn't seem that bad, just a bit abrupt. Alicia smiled back slightly before turning her head.

"Hey guys," Fred interrupted Katie's thoughts, she looked up. "Has anyone seen Oliver recently?"

"I saw him on the way to charms this morning" Angelina replied.

"I mean like since this morning, did anyone see him at lunch" Fred seemed to be trying to get at something, something Katie didn't necessarily understand.

Alicia did, "Oh no" she looked at Fred. "Do you think he's at the pitch?"

Angelina groaned, "We have practice this evening." She turned to Katie to explain, "Which means he will probably be down at the pitch already and won't have had anything to eat since this morning."

"Must we always look after that boy?" George complained, "I thought it was meant to be the other way around."

"Right come on team!" Alicia took charge and they all left the hall laden with food after Katie had suggested that Oliver may be hungry. On their way to the Quidditch pitch Alicia caught up with her, slowing to match Katie's pace.

"Hey, Katie, look, I'm really sorry about before and everything. I really did think you were good, I just get a bit tetchy sometimes when I think people are trying to elbow in on our group. Some people think it's a good way of gaining popularity or whatever. I can tell now you're really not like that and I'd like us to be friends, is that ok?" Alicia took a breath, something resembling fear in her eyes.

Katie beamed, "I'd love to be friends with you Alicia" Alicia grinned back at the smaller girl.

They reached the changing rooms and slipped inside, Katie wasn't sure she should be in there but the team liked her so they obviously didn't see it as a problem. They found Oliver sat on a bench drawing out plays on the opposite whiteboard with his wand. He looked up when he saw them, grinning and looking like he couldn't believe his eyes. Oliver shouted,

"You're early!" He sounded extremely excited.

The rest of the team broke into laughter.

"No, Oliver, we came to find you." Alicia said, still chuckling. "And bring you some food." She added realising no one else was yet in a position to speak. Oliver's face fell,

"Oh" He said, sounding dejected.

Looking up, his eyes surveyed the group until they came to rest on Katie's face. As she studied his expression it began to change, he didn't look sad anymore, he looked angry.

"Who's she?" A tone of malice crept into the otherwise very nice voice. The others followed his line of vision, seemingly they had forgotten that she was there, or alternatively that Oliver didn't actually know who she was yet. She would have found the scene comical in another situation she mused, as the rest of team turned to her slowly, confused expressions plastered all over their faces. Fred was the first to recover.

"Very rude Oliver, since she's an honorary Weasley, and we know how much you love the Weasley family" He said.

"Especially Percy" muttered George.

Angelina then took her turn to pipe up, "Yes, and you should be grateful for this little one-" Katie winced "-she's your much stressed over chaser for next year."

"Yeah" Alicia smiled at her, "didn't Madam Hooch mention anything?"

"Wh-" it seemed Oliver was having difficulty in processing the information being thrown at him from all sides. "She might've said something. I don't remember" He looked back at Katie. "but she's a first year…" he trailed off.

"Hence the reason she's not on the team this year, you know Ol, you'd think you'd know the rules by now." George joked.

"Well what's she doing here now then?" Oliver demanded, looking anywhere but at the girl he was actually talking about. Katie knew she should respect the older boy but his unwelcome attitude rather put her off.

"I'm here to observe, where should I sit?" Katie looked directly at Oliver, her face betraying no emotion.

"Er, I…Um…" Oliver stammered.

"In the stands, Katie, I'll show you." Alicia gently pulled Katie's arm, heading out of the changing rooms. As soon as they were out in the open, Alicia started ripping into Oliver, whilst Katie walked quietly beside her, not uttering a word.

"What's wrong Katie?" Alicia asked.

"Nothing, as much as I may dislike him, he will be my captain next year and he deserves respect." Katie answered her, feeling more upset than she was letting on.

Alicia sighed and gave a small smile, "Listen, Oliver's used to it, he works us hard and gets a lot of abuse for it, I think he secretly enjoys it." Alicia told her, before turning and sprinting back towards the changing rooms.

Katie had an excellent view from where she was sat, although it was September there was a definite chill in the air and Katie regretted not bringing her long red and gold scarf out to the Quidditch pitch. She heard the whistle below and all her future teammates rise into the air, along with two others, one she assumed to be a Weasley from the shade of his hair. She studied the team as they trained, Alicia was right, Oliver did work them hard, but she could see how well they played for it. Angelina and Alicia worked very well together but she could already see how she could fit into their formation. Fred and George were excellent beaters, she was almost positive that at times they were aiming for Oliver. And Oliver himself was…. well she was sure she would never tell him how good he was.

After they had finished Katie waited for a while before going down, she certainly didn't want to bump into Oliver Wood. She hurried down the stairs, and ran straight into her worst fear, Oliver himself.

"Oh, sorry." She looked at the floor not wanting to get him even madder.

He looked down at the terrified girl, his expression softening, "it's ok, don't worry about it." His Scottish accent was much softer when he wasn't shouting. "Um, Fred and George told me to tell you they had to go; they have a detention with Filch apparently." He trailed off.

Katie sniggered, "trust them" she looked up slightly, "What about Angelina and Alicia?"

"Oh" now Oliver looked at the ground, "they told me I should apologise." Katie raised an eyebrow.

He caught her expression, "no wait-" he started, "-it's like, if anything gets in the way of Quidditch…" stopping again he looked at her levelly, "I'm just really passionate about it." He blushed.

"Oh, me too" Katie wasn't lying, she did love Quidditch, but mainly she wanted to make him feel better.

"Really?" he almost squeaked at her, she was quite taken aback at his level of enthusiasm.

"Well not to the point where I would skip meals" she joked with him, he laughed.

"Well if you want I could give you a bit of tuition this year, only if you want though." She smiled at his nervousness.

"I'd love that" she grinned at him, knowing she had her first crush on a boy who was completely unattainable both in age and looks.

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><p>"I think Ol's got a soft spot for you Katie" Fred stated, bringing her out of her reverie.<p>

"What?" She said looking incredulous and somewhat confused.

"Yeah, he's so much softer on you than us" George chipped in.

"Just wait till she's playing proper matches" Angelina grinned back at him.

Katie put her head back on her hands and zoned out, not noticing the worried glances Alicia and Angelina exchanged.

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><p>It's the little things she notices now, his long, soft lashes closing over the now familiar chocolate brown eyes. The way the corner of his mouth quirks when he finds one of the twins jokes funny but doesn't want to admit it. His hand as it touches hers when correcting her grip, sometimes she does it wrong for that purpose, even if he does get frustrated at her. She dares to hope, even if she knows her hopes are futile because a boy like him would never even look twice at a girl like her.<p>

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><p>I didn't particularly plan to write either of them liking each other so soon, because of the age gap, but I think it's realistic she would like him. However, I have a plan now so it's ok!<p>

This story will be four or five chapters long at the most and I will try my best to update when I can. Eek!


	2. Chapter 2

I'm sorry it's taken so long my lovelies; real life has a tendency of getting in the way. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and I hope you all enjoy this chapter! :)

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><p>"Are you ok Katie?" Alicia looked worried at her friend who was sat opposite her and who had just sat bolt upright in the seat opposite.<p>

"I've just realised something," Katie mumbled, "I've been so stupid." They were sat aboard the Hogwarts express, waiting for it to leave. They were waiting for their other friends to join them and catching up on the summer's events whilst doing so. It was during a retelling of Alicia's story of the stay of her French cousin (who was five, and had just started showing signs of magic, Alicia was saying.) that Katie came to a sudden realisation.

"Huh-"Alicia started, before being interrupted by the jubilant voices of the Weasley twins. "Well, I haven't missed them," Alicia giggled as they heard their friends' cries coming closer. She cast the blond girl a strange look but decided she would drop the subject in present company.

"Ta-da," came the voice of George Weasley.

"And as if by magic…" Fred appeared in the doorway as he was speaking.

"Boys!" Alicia rolled her eyes at Katie.

"Have you seen Angelina?" George was frowning.

"Nope, what took you two so long anyway?" Katie asked, the train was about to set off.

"Our baby brother is coming to Hogwarts this year, couldn't leave him without humiliating him in front of the one…" Fred started.

"The only…" George continued.

"Harry Potter," Fred finished.

"Oh and we went to see Lee's tarantula but that's not important." George commented. Alicia and Katie stared at the twins open mouthed.

"Harry Potter is at Hogwarts this year?" Alicia breathed, as if she wasn't certain what she'd just heard.

"Hope he's a Slytherin," a cold voice drawled from just outside their compartment. They turned to see a young boy with pale blonde hair. "That would give everyone a nasty shock."

"I recognise you-" Fred said to the boy, narrowing his eyes as he did so.

"You're a Weasley," the pale boy sneered, "the name is Draco Malfoy."

Fred and George both stood up. "Well then I suggest you leave," George said in a voice that was harsher than Katie had ever heard him use before. Malfoy seemed to snigger and left without another word.

"Man, I hate Slytherins," said Alicia.

Katie smiled across at her, "He hasn't been sorted yet, Al." Alicia smiled back and raised her eyebrows slightly as if to say we all know what's going to happen.

A head popped around the door,

"Ange!" Alicia and Katie both squealed.

"That kind of behaviour is seen as undignified from Quidditch players." A voice came from behind Angelina, Katie recognised it at once and was about to partake in some more 'undignified behaviour' when she remembered to contain herself and just smiled up at the new arrival.

"Hey Ol," George said.

"Thought you might've scheduled some Quidditch practice on the train ride," Fred joked with their captain.

"No," Oliver frowned, "they never got back to me on my proposal that they could magically stretch the train to include a Quidditch pitch."

"You're not serious," Angelina asked as she took a seat next to George, leaving the only other seat next to her, which Oliver promptly inhabited. Katie suppressed a groan.

Oliver's face cracked into a genuine smile, "No, of course not-" he looked around at them all. "-am I _really_ that bad?" Fred and George burst out laughing. They decided they would play a game of exploding snap, which turned into many games of exploding snap. Before they knew it the train started slowing down, and they scrambled to get their robes on, not an easy task in such a small space!

Fred and George Weasley are by far the loudest students at this school, Katie concluded as she was walking into the great hall behind them. They were regaling the story of what they now entitled 'How our brother and Harry Potter became best friends forever.' Alicia and Angelina appeared on either side of her, sitting down when they reached the Gryffindor table.

"Katie," Alicia had her voice lowered. "We really need to talk to you, meet us in our dorm after dinner." Katie looked from one to the other of her best friends, clearly they had been talking about her, Katie wasn't sure she wanted to know how the conversation had gone. By now the others had joined in with the general chatter of the room. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the great hall doors open, and the terrified first years entering. They lined up facing the teacher's table, and the line extended past where she was sitting. She caught first year's eyes, Katie smiled, it was daunting waiting to be sorted. The girl smiled back, looking rather nervous. During the sorting she realised the girl was called 'Jones, Leanne' and was annoyingly sorted into Hufflepuff, as Katie rather wanted to become friends with the girl.

Katie heard McGonagall state quite clearly the words 'Potter, Harry' and she like the rest of the school clambered to see the small boy that many of them had come to know as 'the boy who lived'. All she saw were round glasses beneath untidy dark hair before the boy's face was obscured from view by the sorting hat.

She remembered her own sorting well, the hat had apparently found it quite easy to sort her, although it had considered Ravenclaw for a short while, this was on account of her 'reserved nature' apparently. She still remembered the moment when the hat had shouted 'GRYFFINDOR!' and she was free to see once more.

The whole hall seemed to be holding its breath whilst the sorting hat was deliberating Harry's fate; it finally shouted 'GRYFFINDOR!' and Katie erupted into cheers with the rest of her house. Across the table from her the twins had taken to chanting, 'We got Potter, we got Potter!' She laughed at them before sitting back down to watch the rest of the sorting.

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><p>Dinner was over far too early in Katie's opinion; she really didn't want this conversation with the two girls who were now sticking to her sides like someone had cast a permanent sticking charm on them. Alicia almost dragged her up the stairs to their third year dormitory, Angelina closed the door, and the two girls stood before her, looking about as scary as two blast-ended skrewts.<p>

"Um, what's going on, is this an intervention?" Katie asked, really confused as to what was happening.

"What's an intervention?" asked Angelina, Alicia looked rather confused too, Katie frequently forgot that they were both pure-bloods who knew literally nothing of the muggle world.

"Never mind," Katie waved this comment away, "what's going on?"

"You tell us," Alicia said, in almost a threatening tone of voice. Angelina reached out a hand and placed it on Alicia's arm, giving her a warning look.

"Have I done something wrong?" asked Katie, feeling far more than confused by this point.

"No," Angelina hastily reassured the younger girl, "we're just worried about you Katie."

"Last year, towards the end, we know there was something going on with you…" Alicia paused, sighing deeply before saying "…on the train earlier…"

Katie took a deep breath, she had hated lying to her friends last year, but they knew Oliver better than they knew her then, she wasn't sure what the consequences of telling them would be. Now however, the three girls were more like sisters than anything. They lived relatively close to each other in the muggle world and they had met multiple times to play Quidditch and have a chat.

"Last year… I was completely head-over-heels for someone, on the train, well, let's just say I realised how futile it is." Katie said hesitantly.

"It wasn't George was it?" Angelina was biting her lip looking worried.

Katie smiled; Angelina and George were just so obvious sometimes. "No, not George," the blonde assured her taller friend.

"Not Lee?" Alicia obviously thought she was being casual, Katie frowned, that was a new one.

"Nope," Katie almost sniggered at the look of relief on their faces, but thought better of it.

"Gotta be Fred then hasn't it?" Alicia asked, looking confident that she had the right answer.

"No, not Fred either," they were so oblivious, Katie turned to leave, if they had no clue then she wasn't about to enlighten them. She had her hand on the door when Angelina's soft voice stopped her.

"Oliver?" She didn't sound too sure; Katie said nothing and continued on her way down one flight of stairs and into her bedroom.

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><p>He couldn't work out what was wrong with his youngest newly-appointed chaser. Now his long stressed over seeker had been found – none other than Harry Potter – he was paying a little more attention to the other members of the team. Saying this, he couldn't work out for the life of him work out what was wrong with Katie Bell. She addressed him only as Wood or captain – while this was something he had constantly asked her to do last year he hadn't expected her to actually listen to him. Besides he missed her silly nicknames, he'd never admit it of course, but they were so much better coming from her than from one of the twins. She'd also stopped speaking to him off the pitch, she was a puzzle, and to Oliver's logical mind puzzles needed to be solved.<p>

He kept his other two chasers back after practice, he swore they were about to kill him. Or Alicia was anyway. He asked them what was wrong with little Katie Bell. Alicia swore at him and told him it was really none of his business, and Angelina, whose input he appreciated so much more, told him to give her time and she would be ok. The looks in both of their eyes told him they knew so much more than they were letting on.

Here's the thing about Oliver Wood, people think he has no emotions, and that he doesn't understand others. They're wrong. He keeps his emotions under wraps because he's a leader, and leaders don't let their emotions show. He understands other people's emotions, but never addresses them, because then you find out things that you don't want to know. He still can't figure out Katie Bell. He won't ask because what if he find out something he doesn't want to know, like she's gone off Quidditch over the summer, that would not be good! He feels protective over her though, something he's never really felt concerning one of his team members before, perhaps he should he thinks, laughing to himself.

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><p>Katie looked around her, everybody was in a euphoric mood, herself included. She grinned at her fellow chasers before crossing to the other side of the common room to get herself a pumpkin juice. The house elves had laid out a selection of goodies for their celebration. She was about to walk over to where the twins were sitting when a figure blocked her path.<p>

"You played well today," He said.

"Thank you Oliver, as did you." Katie replied before making a move to walk past him.

"Have I…done something to upset you?" He didn't sound like this was a conversation he wanted to be having. Fine then, he could have it his way.

"Nothing at all Oliver, just leave me be will you?" Katie turned on her heel, thinking about how good that would've been if he knew she was avoiding him, like something from a film.

She approached the chairs where the twins were sitting, squeezing onto the sofa in between them.

"Hey, there's our brilliant chaser, don't worry, your head will only be sore for a while," Fred chuckled placing his hand lightly on top of her head.

"I hope our dear captain wasn't having stern words with you." George smiled at her.

"As if," Fred snorted.

Angelina and Alicia came over to where they were sitting, being rather hysterically followed by an impatient stream of first-years, primarily of the male variety. Katie and the twins took one look and burst out laughing.

"Hi guys," Angelina looked worried.

"Ok," Alicia turned around, and addressed the first years, "seriously, stop following us, or, if you insist, kindly go and get us some food." Katie laughed even harder as ten or so first years scrambled to reach the food table first.

"This is seriously exhausting," Angelina did look extremely tired.

Katie stood up, "Ange! You have this seat, I need some breathing space." Angelina took the seat that was offered and Katie sat down in a single chair, across the table. She glanced back at the seat she had just vacated and chuckled to herself, Angelina was now fast asleep on an uncomfortable yet extremely happy looking George. She caught Fred looking at her, and when she turned to face him he winked.

"You, my delightful little friend, are a genius," Fred said to her.

"Ok, if you think you know what you're talking about Mr. Matchmaker, it's your turn," smiling, she nodded her head at Alicia, curled up on one half of a loveseat near them.

Fred grinned at her, "You're not as clever as you think you are Little Miss know-it-all." He stood on the sofa, looking around the room, smiling when he spotted his target. Cupping his hands to his mouth he shouted, "Oi, Jordan, Alicia wants a shoulder rub!"

Katie giggled when he sat down again, Lee was there within seconds.

"What the lady wants the lady must get." He sat behind Alicia and began rubbing her shoulders, whilst Alicia turned a rather attractive shade of pink, but withheld any complaints.

"You're rather better than I give you credit for Mr. Weasley," Katie genuinely smiled at him.

"I know who you fancy as well," Fred had a teasing tone in his voice.

"Fancied-" Katie said before she had chance to stop herself.

Fred rolled his eyes, "Yeah whatever," he said before getting up and slinging an arm around Oliver's shoulders before glancing back at where Katie was sat, catching her eye and winking. Katie decided there and then that it was time to go to bed.

* * *

><p>"Oliver thinks you're avoiding him," a voice said in Katie's ear before Fred Weasley appeared. The boy was tireless, even four months later he was still annoying her about Oliver. He seemed to be spending more time annoying Katie than doing anything else. Of course George was finding more time to spend with Angelina, he was with her so often now that Fred frequently found himself on his own.<p>

"I am," she said her voice full of annoyance. She hadn't been able to find out who Fred liked, that would've made everything so much easier.

"You should speak to him, he's worried about you," Fred smirked at her.

"I will not speak to that, insufferable, ignorant-" Katie was interrupted by a voice behind her.

"Who are you talking about there then, Bell?" came a voice with soft tones that were undeniably Scottish. Katie was mortified, she was sure Fred had done that on purpose, and sure enough, when she looked around, the mischievous, ginger twin was nowhere to be found. She was left standing face to face; or rather face to chest with none other than the one person she had been avoiding all year.

"Flint, I was talking about Flint," she managed to squeak.

"I wasn't under the impression that you talked to Flint anyway," Oliver looked unmistakably confused, "as long as you weren't talking about another Quidditch captain, one closer to home?"

Looking in to those eyes she had come to know so well, she felt guilt pooling inside her, she'd hurt him.

"Ol, I'm sorry, I've had a tough year. I know that's no excuse…" Katie trailed off.

Oliver seemed to relax, "You could have talked to me Katie, I'm always here for my team."

"I know, Ol," as they parted, she recalled having the same feeling last year as she did now, it certainly was a hard truth to admit to herself, she was falling back in love with Oliver wood.

* * *

><p>At last they were going home, from the moment they'd lost the Quidditch cup that was all Katie wanted to do. She was sat between Fred and Oliver at the Gryffindor table, eating her last meal at Hogwarts for the year. Things were much better between her and Oliver, even with losing the cup he was in a celebratory mood like everyone else. Harry Potter had been though such an ordeal recently and she'd been to see him in the hospital wing, the news had spread like wildfire throughout the school. She felt sorry for the poor guy, he was a good kid and he'd been through so much in his short life.<p>

She went crazy with the rest of them when it was announced that Gryffindor had won the house cup. It was a small consolation, but it was better than nothing.

The peace and quiet of the train was welcome after the last days of Hogwarts. The six of them ended the year as they had started it, together.


	3. Chapter 3

She didn't see Oliver on the train. Thinking about it, she didn't know whether she should celebrate or commiserate the fact. Stupidly, or not, over the summer she had told Al and Angie that she was completely, irreversibly over him, once and for all. She herself was under no illusions, saying that, the look her two best friends had exchanged in the middle of Diagon Alley told her she may not have them as hoodwinked as she'd hoped. Over him or not she was determined as she never had been before to ignore any feelings his presence may stir up.

Sitting, she sighed, stretched out on the seat opposite her was Fred. The train had not yet set off and the rest of their friends had not joined them. She regarded the cheeky brown eyes staring at her from beneath the messy ginger hair.

'Hey, Freddie, how was the rest of your summer?' She asked him, Fred was probably her best guy friend and they had only grown closer with the romance of his brother and her best friend. Many a time they had been invited to meet-ups that would later end with couples sneaking off to find a dark corner somewhere, leaving Katie and Fred alone. She didn't mind much as Fred was brilliant fun and such an easy person to get along with.

'It was brilliant, thanks, George and I really got started on some joke products,' he said.

'Don't you go trying them out on me now will you,' she winked at him.

Fred raised an eyebrow, 'Wouldn't dream of it, now our dear captain however…' he seemed to be scrutinising her expression.

She laughed at him, 'You don't believe I don't like him anymore either do you?' making a slightly irritated sound she leant back in her seat, 'I'm going to prove it to you all, you'll see,' she said, with a grin.

'Katie… there's probably something you need to know.' Fred looked concerned but was interrupted by loud voices right outside the door. Just as Katie was about to ask what Fred was talking about the compartment door slid open with a bang and the almost exact replica of the boy sitting opposite her landed in Katie's lap. He was followed in by Lee Jordan and two giggling girls she knew as her best friends.

'Hey Katie,' said George from his precarious perch on her lap, 'I just wanted to thank you for being there for me, through thick and thin, you truly are a great friend.'

'George, you're squashing her!' Fred scowled at his twin and George meekly shuffled to slide into the space between her and Angelina.

Weird… Katie thought, but forgot the moment as soon as Alicia piped up, 'Yeah, Oliver would never forgive you if you squashed one of his chasers.'

'Where is Oliver?' Angelina asked, addressing no one in particular.

'I heard that he–' George started but was quickly interrupted by Fred who asked to speak to him outside.

Her three remaining friends began to chatter amongst themselves, Katie looked at them, suddenly confused, and announced, 'Am I the only one who's noticed how strange Fred is acting all of a sudden?'

'Erm, is he?' Angelina asked.

'Yeah,' said Alicia raising her eyebrow, 'someone seems to be paying close attention to Fred all of a sudden,' she joked, bursting into yet more giggles.

'Wha- no way!' Katie protested, 'what in the name of Merlin gave you that idea?'

'Alicia's just being silly, Katie, don't worry about it,' said Lee, visibly kicking his girlfriend under the table.

'Ow!' Alicia frowned, 'what was that for?'

Just then the redhead twins burst back through the doors, play fighting as if nothing was wrong. As Fred sat back down opposite her and banter resumed Katie leaned across the table.

'Everything ok Freddie?' she asked.

'Yeah, fine, dandy,' he grinned.

She didn't have time to pursue the issue as the train was stopping, being the only ones that had actually bothered to put on their robes Katie and Fred jumped up, leaving the others scrambling to get their things. Exiting the compartment, Katie turned to Fred and tried to look threatening.

'Ok, spill,' she demanded, eyes narrowing unconvincingly.

'Spill what?' Fred looked genuinely confused, peering at her he asked, 'are you ok? You look like you've got something in your eye.'

Katie coughed and returned her features to normal, 'You know, you were going to tell me something- about… about captain dearest.' Katie found that Oliver's name got stuck somewhere between her heart and her throat.

'Oh…erm,' Fred looked awkward; Katie had a sneaking suspicion it was something he didn't want to tell her at all.

'Maybe Oliver should be the one to tell you?' Fred's voice came from somewhere next to her in the milling crowd. Everyone seemed to be getting off the train together, there seemed to be a good deal of excitement from a nearby group judging from the raised voices.

'Why would Oliver need to tell me?' Katie asked, trying to stop the hope that was threatening to bubble in her chest.

'Some would say it concerns you,' Fred said cryptically before disappearing abruptly into the crowd.

* * *

><p>There seemed to be more excitement than usual at the start of term feast, looking around she spotted Leanne Jones, the Hufflepuff from the year below her.<p>

'Leanne! Do you have any idea what's going on here?'

The small dark-haired girl came hurrying over, 'Harry Potter and Ron Weasley crashed a flying car into the Whomping Willow,' Leanne said, giggling. She was cut off by the approach of none other than Oliver Wood.

* * *

><p>'Katie!' Oliver pulled his star chaser to her feet and wrapped her in a bear hug.<p>

'Hi Ollie,' she grinned up at him.

'Meet my girlfriend, Charlotte,' the girl in question, who had been approaching in a calm manner up until that point suddenly rushed up and gave Katie a hug herself.

'Katie!' She squealed, 'I've heard soo much about you!'

To Oliver's delight Katie was smiling,

'Well congratulations you two! Oliver? A girlfriend? Won't that affect your play?' She said in a teasing voice. He laughed before turning, what was up with her? What was up with him, why shouldn't Katie be happy for him? And why did he feel so uneasy about her acceptance of him having a girlfriend?

* * *

><p>'Look, I feel like you're the only one I can talk to about this.' Katie said, looking into his deep brown eyes. 'You know how I truly feel.'<p>

Fred sighed, 'Yeah, yeah I do.'

'Well then, was it obvious that I was just putting on an act?'

'I don't know, everyone seemed pretty convinced by it.' She had the most beautiful blue eyes. Merlin, Fred, listen to what the girl is saying.

'Everyone but you,' she leaned in closer and he could feel her body heat. For one mad, magical moment he thought she might kiss him. He was promptly brought back to reality when she sat back, yawning and stretching. 'We have Quidditch practice in the morning, maybe we should head to bed?' She stood up. He could feel the moment slipping away.

'Katie, wait!' he half shouted at her, so much so that half the people left in the common room turned to peer into the shadowy corner which they had been occupying. Katie raised an eyebrow but sank back onto her side of the couch.

* * *

><p>He was looking at her with an intensity that was faintly disturbing. 'What is it?' she knew her tone was bordering on impatient but she'd had a relatively trying first day.<p>

He looked scared, there was no other way she could put it. Just terrified. Had she put that look on his face? Was this her fault? She put her hand on his knee, a friendly gesture of reassurance.

'Katie, I'm in love with you.'

That was it, the words hung in the air between them. Looking around she saw people avoiding her gaze, barely concealing that they were staring at her. A thought popped into her head, she instantly regretted thinking it. It was too cruel… or was it?

Fred was still talking '-what I mean to say is… I really, really like you.'

Katie put a finger to his lips; he stared up into her eyes as she leant towards him and softly kissed his lips. She went to bed feeling like a really bad person, but Oliver was dating, and she loved Fred…in her own way. He deserved happiness; he was the best person she knew.

_Oh, Hi guys! This has been a long time in the writing, I know. Sorry!_

_Thank you for those of you who have supported this story. I'm trying to slow it down a bit now and get in more detail so it might be slightly longer than I planned._

_Hope you keep reading!_


	4. Chapter 4

'Oh, God, no,' her head whirled as she sat upright the next morning. She had made the most awful, terrible mistake. Alicia was always telling her to put herself first. Katie realised now, that maybe Alicia was right. _For a change._

She had kissed Fred, her best friend, after he had declared his love. It was like a really crappy TV drama. And now they had Quidditch practice together, her, and Fred, all of their closest friends and Oliver… Maybe it would turn into something more than a drama; there may be something akin to murder in the pipeline. Just then she heard hushed voices coming from outside her dorm door; Angie and Alicia were up then. She scrambled out of bed, gathering her things in her arms, frantically pulling her Quidditch kit on.

Finally ready she banged out of the door to general shushing noises from her girlfriends.

'Have you forgotten to tell us something?' Alicia asked Katie in a hushed but accusatory tone. What? They couldn't have heard already, that would be impossible, they had already gone up to their dorms by the time Fred made his declaration. All Katie could do was stammer and blush in lieu of a response.

'Don't worry Katie,' Angie nudged her inquisitive friend, 'we can understand that you might not want to talk about it.' Alicia only huffed in response and muttered something under her breath that sounded like, 'always the last to know…' _Weird_, Katie thought, _it only happened last night._

Her head was still spinning as they walked down to the pitch, although she always felt a bit woozy when she went without breakfast. She walked into the changing room and sat beside Fred without a thought to what she was doing. _Probably a good thing, _she thought, _people would ask questions if we were weird around each other. _Then she remembered that at least two of their friends present already knew, and she guessed that George probably did. That only left Harry and Oliver who had not a clue of the situation.

The twins hardly spoke two words to her during practice, that said, nobody was very talkative at this time in the morning. Twice she felt Fred's eyes on her, only to find him flying in the opposite direction when she turned to look at him. Both times she had been joking with Oliver about some shot she'd made that he'd either saved or missed. She wondered if she should tone it down before realising there was nothing that could make her jeopardise her relationship with Oliver. Realising how wrong this thought was, she spent the rest of practice in a black mood, one which had not abated by the time she stomped of the pitch.

She showered quickly, and left before any of the other players were even out of the shower. The thought that she was running away from her problems briefly crossed her mind but she sent it away. She sat at the opposite end of the Gryffindor table to their usual spots and wondered if this would be enough to make her friends leave her in peace. They filed in, appearing to be looking for her but not noticing her, p_erhaps they think I've already left, _she thought, ignoring the swell of tears that were gathering in her throat.

'Can I sit here?' She was brooding over her cornflakes when a voice interrupted from behind her. Katie motioned to the seat next to her.

'Angie,' Katie have her a shadow of a smile, 'If anyone would come to find me I would expect it to be you.' Angie placed her had on Katie's back for a moment, not expecting the ragged sob that her little friend gave.

'Katie,' she started, not quite knowing what to say, 'I can understand that you don't want to talk about Oliver, but you if you-' she broke off at the incredulous look on Katie's face.

'Ange, this isn't just about Ollie, you must know that, I could handle it if it was,' Angie raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to make of Katie's outburst.

'This is about Fred, and, you know… what happened last night,' Katie said, her voice getting smaller and smaller, and glancing around frantically for the boy in question or anyone else who might be interested in this information.

'Wait! What?' Angie exclaimed, looking startled, before lowering her voice considerably and continuing, 'What happened between you and Fred?'

'You know, you and Alicia were asking me this morning,' she looked across the table to see a first year hanging on to her every word, she threw down her spoon. 'I can't do this here, come on Ange.'

'We thought you were keeping Oliver's girlfriend to yourself, George told me,' Angelina hurried to match Katie's furious pace, even though her legs were almost double the length.

'Of course not,' Katie felt exasperation with her friend, and reminded herself it wasn't Angelina's fault she'd got herself into such a mess. 'Ok, Ange, I'm only going to say this once, and then I'm going to leave because I really need to be by myself right now.' She took hold of one of Ange's hands and pulled her off to a side passage, _Fred would be able to tell me where this went at a glance,_ flittered across her mind. Looking up into Angie's face she whispered, 'Fred told me his feelings last night and this is going to sound horrible but I sort of kissed him because I didn't know what else to do and there were all these feelings for Oliver…' She trailed off, registering the shock on Angelina's face before turning and fleeing, as she said she would. Tears blinded her vision as she ran from the kindest friend she had ignoring the calling of her name.

She spent the evening in her dormitory, knowing no male could reach her there and trusting Angelina to keep Alicia away.

The next morning she woke, her head no clearer than it had been the day before, but knowing that it was time she spent a little time with some of her other friends. At breakfast she sat with Leanne, a Hufflepuff she had been friends with for a couple of years. It was easy to act happy around Leanne for she knew nothing of the drama that had been unfolding in her life for the past couple of days.

'So, how is Fred?' Leanne asked after a short lull in the conversation, Katie choked on her pumpkin juice and had to be thumped on the back.

'Why would you ask that?' Katie's mind raced, _perhaps Leanne knows about me and Fred, oh, Merlin, I'll bet the whole school knows and I've been stomping around in a black mood. _

Her thoughts were cut short by Leanne's blustering response, 'W- what? I always ask about your friends, I should have asked about the twins, It's just…'

Katie felt bad for snapping at her friend, but she could see colour rising in Lea's cheeks that had nothing to do with her and everything to do with the figure approaching the Hufflepuff table. Comprehension dawned in Katie's eyes and Leanne saw, grabbing her friend's wrist and squealing, 'please don't say anything.'

'Katie, can I have a word?' Fred's clipped tones stung her as they betrayed the animosity he felt towards her. Despite the guilt she felt, Katie now had the perfect way out of the situation she was in. If she was going to betray her friend's confidence though, she had to give her something in return.

'Fred, I will come and speak with you. Just one thing before we go, though.' Fred turned, for he had already been about to walk away in the direction he had come from. 'You may be mad at me but you've never been so rude as to not acknowledge my friends before.' She flicked her eyes from his to Leanne and back again.

'So sorry, nice to see you Lea,' Katie smiled, Fred may be angry but he was nothing if not a gentleman. Katie followed his retreating form out of the hall, looking back to wink at her friend who looked so happy she could burst.

He led her into the same unused corridor in which she and Angelina had had their chat, heat burning behind his eyes, face demanding an explanation.

'I know the other night must have given you conflicting feelings, and I wanted to give you time to sort them out.' Fred took a deep breath, 'I'm fine with whatever you decide, but you've been ignoring me for two days and I just can't take it any longer.'

Katie pressed a palm against his chest, 'I swear I was going to come and find you soon.' He raised his eyebrows, wanting to believe her but not quite convinced. 'You're right about conflicting feelings, but Fred, there's another reason why I can't be with you, other than the ones you already know.' She was expecting a look of disappointment that tugged at her heartstrings but she could see he was trying to be strong and she would never be able to thank him enough for it. 'I found out, afterwards,' she coughed a little, 'one of my friends, she really adores you, I don't know how I couldn't see it before.' He raised his head, an eyebrow quirking up, a sly smile playing around his lips.

'Are you serious?' he glanced back towards the great hall, 'Leanne?'

'Merlin, you're good, please don't say ANYTHING, Fred.'

'Don't worry,' he smirked, 'I won't SAY anything'

They laughed together, like the friends that they were and she allowed him to escort her to class.

She was in the library moping over the cuteness that was Oliver and his girlfriend when the man himself took the seat opposite her.

'Milady,' he grinned at her, _someone's in a good mood, _she thought, unable to stop herself.

'Ollie,' she smiled wearily back at him.

'Hey! What's up? You look like you're the one sitting your N.E.W.T's this year.'

She gaped at him, stunned, in all the excitement of her first couple of weeks she had forgotten that Oliver was leaving this year. 'I forgot you were leaving,' was all that she could say, moisture forming in the corners of her eyes. She looked up into his eyes, something that she did not do very often, for fear he would see the secrets behind them. She was fourteen; she was not ready for this boy, who had been the centre of her world for that past four years, to leave her. He stared back at her, his soft brown eyes flickering with something she thought looked like regret before he stood up and moved to her side. Crouching down next to her chair, he reached up to smooth her hair back from her face.

'You know I'll always stay in touch, don't you? Even when I'm captain of some world famous Quidditch team.' His mouth quirked up at the corner, 'I will never forget you, so don't be worried about that.' Katie only nodded, closing her eyes to the feel of his hand and the sound of his voice. When she opened them again he had moved away to take the chair beside her.

'So, um, how's your girlfriend?' she may as well keep the pretence up, there was only one more year.

'She, yeah, we broke up,' Oliver admitted, not looking too heartbroken. 'We both realised the amount of work we had on our plates this year, along with my Quidditch and her Prefect duties, it just would never have worked.'

Katie laughed, 'You were only together a week!'

Oliver smiled back at her, 'We had the summer, and we were just friends by the end anyway.' He looked at her, 'Sorry, Katie, you probably really don't want to hear all this.'

He didn't know how wrong he was.

'No Ollie, I like the fact you feel like you can talk to me about this,' she touched his arm briefly; glad he didn't see her as a little girl who needed protecting. He smiled beck before getting out his work, they settled into a companionable silence, working next to each other.

* * *

><p>AN: Hey guys! Sorry that it has been so, so long. If any of you are still interested in the story I think I may do one or two more chapters to wrap it up depending on how it goes. I was just reading this story back casually the other day and I hate leaving things unfinished, also I have tons of time on my hands now so I wrote this fairly quickly. I'm sorry if there are any mistakes. I'd be grateful for any reviews but above all I hope you enjoy reading this! :-)<p> 


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